Texas OL Elijah Rodriguez will miss “extended period of time” following ankle surgery

The junior left Tuesday’s practice with what officials called a high ankle sprain. Just last week coach Tom Herman had somewhat surprisingly named Rodriguez as the current favorite to win the team’s open right tackle spot.

“Because he’s good enough,” Herman said when asked why Rodriguez was receiving reps with the ones over Denzel Okafor and Tristan Nickelson.

With Rodriguez out for the foreseeable future, the battle for right tackle becomes a two-man competition.

Herman said both Okafor and Nickelson come with their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

“Tristan is physically limited at times because of how long a guy that he is,” Herman said. “He gets his body out of position at times,” Herman said. But he’s always in the right spot. He’s always on the right person. It’s just executing at the point of attack. I think he’s gotten better and will continue to get better at that.

“Denzel is a very fluid long athlete. He’s got some strength and power. His is just, much like Pat (Hudson), it’s the speed of the game and going to the right place at the right time with the right technique and putting it all together.”

Last season Nickelson started three games (Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor) at right tackle. The senior has appeared in 17 games, making six starts.

Okafor appeared in 10 games as a freshman, mostly on special teams and in the 18-wheeler package.